Packaging machine for stockings and the like



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PACKAGING MACHINE FOR STOCKINGS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 17, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 O rf) "w l0 w fw- N t0 (y N Q- f (Y \Q q` (Y INVEN TOR S March Z8, 1967 C, KQRCH ET Al.

PACKAGING MACHINE FOR STOCKINGS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 17, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 NWN www

March 2s, 1967 Filed Aug. 17, 1964 C. KORCH ET Al- PACKAGING MACHINE FOR sTocKINGs AND THE LIKE 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS.

March 28, 1967 c. KoRCH ET AL 3,

PACKAGING MACHINE FOR STOCKINGS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 17, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 4,

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PACKAGING MACHINE FOR STOCKINGS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 1v, 1964 9 sheets-sheet 5 F ig. 5

INVENTORS.

March 28, 1967 Q KQRCH ET AL 3,310,930

PACKAGING MACHINE FOR STOCKINGS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 1'7, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 VI ws AMWWAVN/AWAW /Aw lg.

INVENTOR S.

Ml'Ch 28, 1967 C, KORCH ET AL 3,310,930

PACKAGING MACHINE FOR STOCKINGS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 17, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 'f INVENTORS.

March 28, 1967 C, KORCH ET AL 3,310,930

PACKAGING MACHINE FOR STOCKINGS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. l?, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 FigQ I NVENTOR 5,

March 28, 1967 Filed Aug.

c. KoRcH ET AL 3,310,930

PACKAGING MACHINE FOR STOCKINGS AND THE LIKE 17, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 United States Patent O 3,310,930 PACKAGING MACHINE FR STCKIGS AND THE LIKE Christian Korch, Frankfurt am Main, Gerhard Manfred Wnesthot, Eschborn, and Johannes Ziegs, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, assignors to Wsthoif Co. Indnstriehedarfs OHG., Frankfurt am Main, Germany, a German company Filed Ang. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 390,780 Claims priority, application Germany, Aug. 16, 1963, W 35,095; Sept. 27, 1963, W 35,331 20 Claims. (Cl. 53-117) Our present invention relates to a machine for automatically packaging flat goods, specifically articles of wear such as stockings, and has for its general object the elimination of various manual operations heretofore necessary for this purpose.

In the packaging of elongated articles of this type, such as stockings, socks or long gloves, it is customary to fold the article or pair of articles about a stifening insert such as a piece of cardboard and then to insert the entire assembly into a transparent plastic envelope, the latter being subsequently closed with the aid of a sticky label which joins a bent-over ap portion to the body of the envelope. It is also common practice to insert a cover sheet of ornamental and/or advertising character into the envelope before closing it.

Since the manual performance of the aforesaid operations is time consuming, it is a more particular object of our invention to provide means for carrying them out mechanically and in rapid succession.

Briey, a machine embodying out invention comprises two fully automatic co-operating units juxtaposed for automatically advancing the goods from an inlet position to an outlet position the first unit having means for wrapping the goods about a stiifening insert whereas the second unit includes a mechanism for wrapping the assembly of goods and insert in a sheet of heat-scalable and preferably transparent material (eg. polyethylene), thermally sealing the edges of the wrapping to form a bag, folding over a projecting ap portion at the open end of the bag and applying a closure label to the bent-over flap portion. Advantageously, in accordance with a further feature of our invention, a cover sheet is automatically juxtaposed With the aforementioned assembly of goods and insert to form a stack about which the heatsealable plastic foil is subsequently wrapped.

A specific feature of our invention resides in the provision of a clamp for pulling a length of wrapping foil across the path of a reciprocating carriage supporting the assembly to be wrapped. The carriage, in moving past the clamp, draws the foil into a loop from which it is subsequently withdrawn, leaving the assembly enveloped in a bag which is formed by the sealing of the sides of the loop and its severance from the remainder of the foil. Advantageously, in accordance with a further feature of our invention, the clamp used for this purpose has a pair of jaws of which one is controlled by spring-loaded cams to close about the free end of the foil and, preferably, also about one end of a precut cover sheet placed alongside the foil by a separate feeding mechanism.

According to another feature of our invention, the assembling unit preceding the wrapping unit is provided with a pair of retractable pins which are positionable underneath the goods on opposite sides of the associated insert and are swingable parallel to themselves, in overlapping orbits, to fold the ends of the goods about the insert. Where the goods are irregularly shaped articles, such as stockings, the pin engaging the top of the stocking may extend transversely to the sides of the insert whereas the pin engaging the foot of the stocking may be inclined so as to be subsequently perpendicular to the shank just above the heel. The relative spacing of these pins in their starting position may be made adjustable for the purpose of accommodating goods of different lengths.

The above and other objects and features of our invention will become more fully apparent in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG, 1 is an overall top plan view of a machine embodying our invention;

FIG. 2 is a side-elevational view, partly in section, of certain elements constituting the Wrapping unit of the machine shown in FIG. l;

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views taken, respectively, on the lines III-III, IV-IV and V-V of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the line VI-VI of FIG. l, showing details of the assembling unit of the machine;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view, partly in section, of certain elements of the assembling unit;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7;

FIG` 9 is a top plan View, drawn to a larger scale, of part of the assembling unit shown in FIGS. 1 and 6-8 and FIG. 10 is an elevational view taken on the line X-X of FIG. 9.

In FIG. 1 we have shown an overall view of our machine whose frame, not illustrated in this figure, supports an assembling unit 100, a transfer mechanism lil and a wrapping unit 200. Unit 1Q@ comprises a drum 111 composed of two axially spaced and radially offset disks 113, 113 whose parallel axes lie. in a common horizontal plane (as best seen in FIG. 6) and to which a set of six platforms 112 are pivotally connected in such manner that these platforms retain their horizontal position in any angular position of the disks. A drive mechanism 151 rotates the two disks in unison and intermittently, as more fully described hereinafter, while being synchronized with the other movable elements of the machine in a manner not further illustrated.

The unit serves, in a manner to be described in detail 4with reference to FGS. 6-10, to assemble a stocking pair 1 and a cardboard insert 2 preparatorily to the wrapping of the assembly in a transparent envelope. The resulting parcel 1, 2, resting on the platform 112 nearest the transfer mechanism 1%, is lifted off that platform by a flipper 12 forming part of this transfer mechanism, the flipper having a pair of prongs 12a which pass through cutouts 112a in platform 112 to pick up the overlying parcel 1, 2 and to deposit it upside down on a carriage 213 of the wrapping unit 200, this rotation of the flipper through and its subsequent return to the vicinity of the drum 111 (preparatorily to the descent of the next platform 112 thereof) being carried out by a motor 11 under the control of the overall timing system not shown. A similarly controlled motor 232 drives a crank 231 which is coupled via a pitman 23@ with the carriage 213, the latter being supported by the outer race of ball bearings 228 (see FIG. 2) on rails 229 which define a horizontal track perpendicular to the plane of motion of transfer mechanism 1t). Carriage 213 comprises a platform 224 with a longitudinal slot 225 and a raised stop 226 rearwardly of that slot.

Disposed above the path of reciprocation of carriage 213 is a sheet guide 241) adapted to receive the end of a web of plastic foil 3 drawn from a roll 233 (FIG. 2). In pushing the parcel 1, 2 past the guide 240 onto a sealing station 214, the supporting carriage 213 causes the foil 3 to be drawn into a loop around the parcel and the carriage inasmuch as the lower extremity of the foil is gripped at this time, in a manner explained hereinafter, by a clamp 246 (FIG. 2) aligned with the funnel 240. Next, the carriage 213 is withdrawn, the longitudinal edges of the foil adjacent rails 229 are thermally sealed and the resulting bag is severed from the remainder of the foil at a location close to the guide 24d, all as more fully described below. A clamp 263, which is reciprocated horizontally by a hydraulic cylinder 264 and whose jaws may be opened and closed electromagnetically or otherwise, is advanced to meet the laterally sealed package at station 214 and to draw it into range of a labeling device 217; a plunger 21S underneath track 229 thereupon rises to erect the rearwardly projecting liap portion at the open end of the bag so that the device 217 may fold down this ap portion and apply a sticky label to it, thus closing the bag. If a cover sheet 4 was fed through the guide 24) alongside the transparent foil 3, this sheet will have come to rest at the bottom of the package within the bag, thus on the side opposite label 5. A pusher 219, operated hydraulically, pneumatically or otherwise in step with the remainder of the mechanism, transfers the finished package to a conveyor 220 which delivers it to its destination.

Reference will now be made to FEGS. 2-5 for a detailed description of the sealing station 214 and related elements. Supported on a pair of walls 215:1, 215b of the machine frame, directly underneath the supply roll 233, is a sloping shelf 236 forming an inclined surface for the web of transparent foil 3 which is periodically drawn from this roll by a pair of feed rollers 235 and* 235', at least one of these rollers being intermittently driven as indicated by the arrow. A cover plate 237 spacedly overlies the lower end of shelf 236 up to approximately the level of the line of contact between rollers 235, the web 3 coming from these rollers lying freely in a loop on the exposed portion of shelf 236 and passing vfrom between this shelf and the plate 237 through several pairs of frictionally braked guide rollers 238, 238 and 239, 239 into the sheet guide 240. This guide, as Ibest seen in FIG. 3, consists of two transversely spaced brackets 24051, 244th which are bent in U-shape about the edges of the web 3 and of a cover sheet 4 deposited in the guide 240 alongside this web. The means for feeding the cover sheet 4 to the guide 240 includes a conventional pickup arm 243 with several suction heads which swings about a vertical axis, not shown, to lift up the top one of a stack of such sheets and to place it on a table 242 tangentially adjoining an arcuate guide channel 241. As shown in FIG. 5, channel 241 is formed by two transversely spaced, curved U-protile brackets 241e, 241b terminating a short distance above the brackets 240a, 24011 of guide 24). Plate 242 has a pair of slots 24211, 24212 accommodating suction heads 245a, 245b on a pair -of swingable arms 2445i, 244!) pivoted on a shaft 244e (FIG. 2).

In the operation of the sheet feeder illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 5, arms 244a, 2441) are swung upwardly into a substantially vertical position so as to enter the slots 2425:, 242b of table 242, suction being then applied to the heads 245:1, 245b so that a sheet 4 deposited on table 242 is gripped and entrained downwardly when the arms are subsequently swung back into a substantially horizontal position. T he guide channel 241, extending over an arc of nearly 90, terminates tangentially to the roller 239 so that the sheet 4 will enter the slightly wider U-profile brackets 240g, 240i) next to the free end of the web 3 which had previously been crut just approximately at the level of carriage 213. Sheet 4, upon being released by the suction heads 244a, 244b, thus has its lower edge substantially aligned with that of web 3. The sheet 4 may be slightly longer than the cardboard 2 whereas the amount of slack left in the web 3, owing to the presence of the loop on shelf 236, may be somewhat less than twice the length of sheet 4 so that a narrow portion of this sheet is bent about the leading edge of parcel 1, 2 when the web zg. 3 is folded about the parcel. To assist in this folding operation, a clamp 246 is disposed underneath sheet guide 240 and is vertically movable with the aid of a pair of hydraulic pistons 251a, 251b, guided across beams 263, 264 which are rigid with the walls 215er, 21511 of the machine frame.

Clamp 246 comprises a fixed jaw 247 and a movable paw 248 pivoted to it at 243. A bar 249 extends across the outer (rear) surface of movable jaw 248 and terminates in a pair of studs 250er, 2561 adapted to co-operate with respective cams 252a, 252i: of gener-ally triangular shape. These cams are supported on arms 264a, 264b which are limitedly swingable in walls 215a., 215b and urged forwardly under spring pressure so that the lower tips of the cams 2520, 252b normally lie just forwardly of the studs 250er, 25011. When the clamp 246 is raised, studs 25051, ZSb ride up the sloping rear edges of the cams so that jaw 248 is opened against the pressure of its own biasing spring 265; the studs then follow the contour of the cams so that, after the clamp jaws 247, 248 have straddled the depending edges of sheet elements 3 and 4, the jaw 248 is pressed forwardly to close the clamp as the studs 25a, 2501: descend the sloping front edges of cams 252a, 252b. When the clamp 246 returns to its illustrated bottom position, with entrainment of elements 3 and 4, the clamp carriers 264a, 26411 are briefly pushed back against the force of `their biasing springs to let the studs 258a, 25812 pass. Thereafter, clamp 246 is held closed by its spring 265 until the clampsupporting pistons 251a, 251b begin to rise again.

The reciprocation of carriage 213 under the con-trol of crank 233 (FIG. 1) is timed so that the advance of n this carriage toward the left, as viewed in FIG. 2, will take place as soon as the clamp 246 has descended to stretch the web 3 and the sheet 4 across the path of the carriage. The latter, upon thus advancing, deects the two sheet elements, 3, 4 onto a supporting table 234 beyond a guide roller 254. A further guide roller 253 defines with roller 254 a narrow vertical gap just suicient to allow the passage of carriage platform 224 and its parcel 1, 2 along with a double layer of web 3 and sheet 4, the roller 253 also serving as a guide rod for a knife 262 which is normally positioned laterally of the path of reciprocation of carriage 213 so as not to interfere with the looping of web 3. The brackets 241m, 240b of sheet guide 240 are swingable about stub shafts 271e, 2711; (see FIG. 3) so that, during this looping of the web, the upper reach of the loop flexes about rollers 239 and 253 while the guide 246 swings forwardly as tension is exerted upon the transparent foil material by the leading edge of the carriage platform. The operation of the pistons 251a, 251]; may be so timed that, at this instant, the studs 25021, 250b of bar 249 have not yet fully cleared their cams 252er, 2521) so that the cl-amp 246 is held positively closed by the cam supports 264a, 26415 whose swingability is limited by stops on the walls 215g, 215b; subsequently, upon a further lowering of these pistons, the clamping pressure is supplied only by the spring 265 so that the sheet elements 3, 4 can be readily pulled out of the jaws 247, 248 by the clamp 263. It will be understood, incidentally, that the latter clamp could be constructed in a manner similar to that of clamp 246.

Next, a shaft 258 is rotated so that a cam 257 thereon lowers a block 256 above table 234, this block carrying a resilient bail 255 serving to retain the package 1-4 in its position on table 234 while the carriage 213 is withdrawn to its starting position adjacent a supply opening 256 in wall 215a. Concurrently with this descent of the retaining member 255, a pair of heated bars 260e, 26019 (FIG. 4) are lowered by means of rods 261a, 261b, controlled by other cams 259a, 259b on shaft 258, to form a heat seal along the lateral edges of the folded foil 3 just beyond the edges of the inserted sheet 4. Im-

mediately thereafter, a leadscrew 267 is rotated to drive the knife 262 along a guide rod 268 across the width Aof the foil so that the rearw-ardly open bag formed by this sealing operation is severed from the remainder of the plastic web supplied by the roll 233. The oper-ation of clamp 263 (FIG. 1), which follows the Withdrawal of members 255, Za, 20b from the package 1-4, moves this package underneath the labeling device 217 which in FIG. 2 is shown to compri-5e a drum 269 swingable on an arm 270. Plonger 218, rising after the package entrained by the clamp 263 has Vcome to rest to the left thereof, erects the trailing ap portion of the package so that the dru-m 269 can swing past it, asfshown by the arrow, and apply to it a sticker or gumrned label 5 previously picked up by this drum and temporarily held thereon by suction. The package is now ready for delivery to the conveyor 220 (FIG. l) as described above.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 6-10 for a more detailed description of the assembling unit 10i). FIG. 6 shows the drum 111 supported on a part 115 of the machine frame which at 152 forms a supply table whereon an operator may deposit one or more pairs of stockings 1 preparatorily to placin-g them individually on the nearest platform 112 of the drum. The-se platforms are shown in FIG. 6 to occupy six different stations, Nos. I-VI, during definite periods as the drum is intermittently rotated through angles of At station I the drum is aligned with the supply table 152; at the diametrically opposite station IV it confronts the transfer mechanism 10. The intermediate stations II and III serve for the deposition of the cardboard insert 2 and for the folding of the stockings about this insert as will now be described, whereas the remaining stations V and VI have no special function.

At station II, as shown in FIG. 7, the plat-form 112 carrying the goods 1 is aligned with a magazine 117 whose sloping bottom 118 forms a chute for the stack of cardboards 2. Magazine 117 is open at i-ts side 119 facing the drum 111 except for short detent lugs 121, 121' at the top and the bottom of this open side. A roller 120 extends across'the side 119 below the middle thereof, at a location in which the top of the roller is level with a pair of supporting strips 124a, 12417 attached to a pair of rails 125:1, 125b which are rigid with the machine frame 115. One or more suction heads 122 at the end of a triangular linkage 123 are swingable about the axis of roller 12) between the positions respectively illustrated in solid and dot-dash lines, thereby drawing the top of the outermost cardboard 2 from under the log 121 and into a horizontal position in which this cardboard bends about the roller 120 and bridges the supporting strips 124g, 124i?. Next, a carriage 126 at the end of a piston 127, projecting from a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 128, is moved along rail-s 125:1, 125b toward the magazine 117 until a clamp or gripper comprising a fixed jaw 129 and a movable jaw 130 meets the horizontal portion of the bent cardboard 2. A solenoid 131 controls the movable jaw 131i to close the clamp about the cardboard 2 whereupon the motion of the carriage 126 is reversed so that the cardboard is pulled into approximately the middle region of platform 112 above the deposited stocking pair 1, beyond the strips 124a, 124b. A retaining finger 132, swingalble on a shaft 153, is operated just prior to de-energ-iziation of solenoid 131 to hold down the insert 2 before the clamp 129, 13) is released to let the cardboard drop. The platform 112 is then stepped into position III.

Each platform 112 is formed in its upper surface with several pairs of grooves 135, 136 and 135', 136 adapted to receive longitudinally movable pins 133 and 134 which can be extended from respective pneumatic cylinders 137, 138. The pin 133 extends perpendicularly to the major edges of platform 112 and cardboard 2 Whereas the pin 134 is inclined so as to lie substantially at right angles to the shank of the stocking 1 in the region in which this shank crosses the groove 136 or 136. A pair of resilient retaining fingers 154 are swingable on a shaft 155 to hold the cardboard insert 2 in position while the pins 133 and 134 are lifted to fold the top and bottom ends of the stockings 1 over the insert, cylinder 137 being supported for this purpose on an arm 139 rigid with a horizontal shaft 156 whereas cylinder 13S is engaged by a parallelogrammatio linkage which includes a pair of arms 144, respectively rigid with a pair of pinions 14.16, 147 that are in mesh with a central gear 143 on a shaft 157. The shafts 156 and 157 are journaled on a pair of platforms 149, 149, respectively, which travel on rods 158, 159 and are engaged by oppositely threaded portions of a leadscrew 150 carrying a knob 160. Shaft 143, driven intermittently by a motor 161, has keyed to it a pair of bevel gears 1411, 142 which axially slide on this shaft and are held by suitable stops, rising from the carriages 149, 149', in meshing engagement with other bevel gears 162, 163 on shafts 156 and 157, respectively.

In operation, cylinder 138 is swung by the linkage 144, 145 about an axis parallel to itself whereas cylinder 137 swings about the axis of shaft 13o, the orbits of the extended pins 133, 134 overlapping and the timing of their respective swings being such that pin 133 completes its folding motion ahead of the pin 134. The pins are then pneumatically retracted into their respective cylinder 137, 133 before the latter return to their starting positions. It will be noted that the swing axes of cylinders 137 and 138 are so positioned that the respective pins 133, 134 will come to rest substantially at the remote edges of the insert 2 upon the completion of their swing. A certain tension is imparted to the stockings 1 by this folding operation so that the stockings are stretched across the insert 2.

If stockings of shorter length are used, knob is rotated in the retracted position of pins 133, 1311 to align the cylinders 137, 138 with the grooves 135', 136 instead of grooves 135, 136. Naturally, further grooves may be provided to accommodate still other lengths of stockings.

Since the retaining fingers 154 are here shown supported directly on the machine frame (though they could also be mounted on the platform 112 itself), they must be lifted off the cardboard 2 before the platform moves on into its next position IV.

Modifications of the specific arrangement described and illustrated are, of course, possible without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A packaging machine for flexible fiat articles, comprising an assembling unit, a wrapping unit and a transfer mechanism between said units, said assembling unit including first automatic means for forming a series of parcels from said articles and stiffening inserts therefor, said wrapping unit including second automatic means for folding a foil of fiexible plastic material about a parcel delivered to said wrapping unit from said assembling unit by said transfer mechanism, sealing tthe lateral edges of the foil about said parcel to form an open-ended bag about said parcel, and discharging the resulting pack-age.

2. A machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said wrapping unit further includes feed means for juxtaposing a cover sheet with said foil prior to the folding thereof whereby said cover sheet is incorporated in said package.

3. A machine as defined in claim 2 wherein said feed means comprises a first pair of U-profile brackets engageable with opposite edges of said sheet and a second pair of U-profile brackets aligned with said first brackets for receiving said sheet edges therefrom while also accommodating the edges of a web of said foil delivered by a supply roll therefor, said second automatic means including clamp means engageable simultaneously with portions of said foil and said sheet projecting beyond said second brackets'.

4. A machine as defined in claim 3 wherein said feed means further comprises a substantially horizont-al table and pick-up means for depositing said sheet on said table, said second brackets extending substantially vertically below the level of said table, said first brackets being curved through substantially 90 along an arch substantially tangent to said table and said second brackets.

5. A machine yas defined in claim 1 wherein said second automatic means includes guide means for the edges of a web of said foil delivered by a supply roll therefor, a reciprocable carriage positionable to receive said parcels one at a time from said transfer mechanism, and clamp means engageable with an end of said web for drawing said foil across the path of said carriage whereby movement of said carriage past said clamp means draws said web into a loop about said carriage and the parcel supported thereon.

6. A machine as defined in claim 5, further comprising retaining means operable to hold said parcel in place within the looped web during withdrawal of said carriage.

7. A machine as defined in claim 6 wherein said second automatic means includes heated edge-sealing means engageable with said web substantially concurrently with said retaining means.

8. A machine as defined in claim 5 wherein said guide means includes an inclined shelf adapted to receive a looped portion of said web, substantially vertical U- profile brackets below the level of said shelf above said path, and at least one roller pair between said shelf and said brackets.

9. A machine as defined in claim 5 wherein said clamp means comprises a reciprocable member, a fixed jaw on said member, a movable jaw pivotally mounted on said member adjacent said fixed jaw, and cam means independent 'of said member engageable with said movable jaw for controlling its motion relative to said fixed jaw during reciprocation of said member.

10. A machine as dened in claim 9 wherein said cam means comprises an element of generally triangular contour, said movable jaw being spring-loaded for hugging said contour on moving in one direction of reciprocation, said element being spring-loaded for yieldingly clearing said movable jaw upon movement thereof in the opposite direction of reciprocation.

11. A machine as dened in claim 5 wherein said second automatic means includes knife means normally olfset from the path of said carriage and actuating means for moving said knife across said path upon the formation of said loop and the sealing of said lateral edges.

12. A machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said wrapping unit further includes means for folding back a projecting flap portion of said bag at the open end thereof and means for closing said bag by pasting a` sticker onto the folded-back ap portion and an adjoining part of the bag.

13. A machine as defined in claim 1 wherein said assembling unit includes support means for said articles and a magazine for said inserts, said first automatic means being operable to place an insert from said magazine upon an article deposited on said support means.

14. A machine as defined in claim 13 wherein said magazine has an end open toward said support means and detent means partly blocking said end, said first automatic means including suction means for drawing part of an insert nearest said open end past said detent means and reciprocable gripper means above said support means engageable with said part for completely withdrawing said insert from said magazine.

15. A machine as defined in claim 13 wherein said support means comprises a horizontal platform with an upper surface provided with at least one pair of grooves on opposite sides of a location adapted to receive said insert, said first automatic means further including a pair of pins longitudinally insertable into said grooves below projecting end portions of said articles and drive means for swinging said pins through overlapping orbits for folding said end portions about said insert.

16. A machine as defined in claim 1S, adapted for the packaging of stockings, wherein one of said pins extends substantially perpendicularly to an edge of said platform whereas the other of said pins is inclined to said edge and is substantially transverse to a shank portion engageable by the last-mentioned pin, said drive means including linkages for swinging each pin about an axis parallel to itself.

17. A machine as defined in claim 15 wherein said drive means further includes a pair of cylinders each at least partly receiving one of said pins, said cylinders being connected to a source of iuid pressure for extending and retracting said pins.

18. A machine as defined in claim 17 wherein the number of pairs of grooves in said upper surface is greater than one, said cylinders being provided wtih adjustment means for selectively aligning said pins with different pairs of said grooves.

19. A machine as defined in claim 15 wherein said support means comprises an array of equispaced platforms and mounting means for successively stepping said platforms into different operating stations by intermittent rotation about a horizontal axis, said mounting means maintaining each platform horizontal during said rotation.

20. A machine as defined in claim 19 wherein said operating stations include a first station for the deposition of an article, a second station adjacent said magazine, a third station aligned with said pins and a fourth station confronting said transfer mechanism.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,043,069 7/1962 Whitehouse et al. 53-157 TRAVIS S. MCGE-HEE, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PACKAGING MACHINE FOR FLEXIBLE FLAT ARTICLES, COMPRISING AN ASSEMBLING UNIT, A WRAPPING UNIT AND A TRANSFER MECHANISM BETWEEN SAID UNITS, SAID ASSEMBLING UNIT INCLUDING FIRST AUTOMATIC MEANS FOR FORMING A SERIES OF PARCELS FROM SAID ARTICLES AND STIFFENING INSERTS THEREFOR, SAID WRAPPING UNIT INCLUDING SECOND AUTOMATIC MEANS FOR FOLDING A FOIL OF FLEXIBLE PLASTIC MATERIAL ABOUT A PARCEL DELIVERED TO SAID WRAPPING UNIT FROM SAID ASSEMBLING UNIT BY SAID TRANSFER MECHANISM, SEALING THE LATERAL EDGES OF THE FOIL ABOUT SAID PARCEL TO FORM AN OPEN-ENDED BAG ABOUT SAID PARCEL, AND DISCHARGING THE RESULTING PACKAGE. 